Biological samples, such as saliva taken for DNA profiling in criminal investigations, are commonly taken by swabbing a liquid containing biological material with an absorbent collection medium. Such collection media are, by necessity, exposed, and are therefore vulnerable to contamination. To maintain the integrity of the samples, they are typically transferred to and held in an absorbent storage medium, which may comprise a membrane impregnated with chemicals for stabilising the sample. The samples are allowed to dry and, once dry, the biological storage medium can be stored or transported to a testing facility for analysis.
Such methods of transferring biological samples from the collection medium to the storage medium typically involve bringing the collection medium into physical contact with the storage medium, perhaps with the application of a moderate amount of mechanical force; some of the liquid sample is then drawn by capillary action into the sample storage medium. Conventionally, this is a manual process and therefore consistent and uniform transfer of the biological sample from the collection medium to the storage medium depends heavily on the skill of the operator.
US2008/196517 proposes an integrated collection, transfer, and storage device into which a biological sample storage medium may be inserted. The device comprises a sample collection surface that can be brought into physical contact with the sample storage medium. It has been noted that the device illustrated in US2008/196517 is not simple to use and requires two hands to operate. Consequently, operation of the device is sometimes difficult in the field. Also, the construction of the device is such that direct contact between the operator and the collection portion of the device is necessary to transfer biological material; this is undesirable, as it may result in contamination of the sample and/or discomfort for the operator. Further, the force applied by an operator to cause transfer of the biological material may be uneven, causing the resulting transfer to be inconsistent and non-uniform.
Embodiments of the present invention address the problems mentioned above.